For many years, few band logos have been more memorable than that of The Romantics. I have several t-shirts from the 80s up to the 2000s, some displaying the logo in red, some with white writing and another that has the logo lettering with a picture of the first album lineup.

After wearing many diferent Romantics shirts when my wife and I go out for some drinks or to public places, I've noticed that people of all ages have noticed and commented on the memorable logo. For example, I've had middle-aged people who commented on remembering The Romantics, but also comments from some kids who are teenagers (or not much older), who automatically assumed The Romantics are a recent or new band. Little do they know that The Romantics are one of the longest running American rock groups.

One thing I've noticed is how other veteran bands similar to The Romantics handle their advertising. For example, Paul Collins from The Beat and The Nerves uses the classic album cover and logo from the first Beat album on his shirts. Also, they only use trend-inspired cartoon drawings or vintage pictures of Paul Collins from when he was young in The Beat.

Band logos, especially on t-shirts, are still an integral part of advertising and promotion for rock groups. People young, old and in-between still enjoy wearing t-shirts of the great rock acts they enjoy seeing live. What makes it special is being able to buy a shirt from the night of the concert and it serves as a memory reminder of how much fun it was at the concert.

The Romantics' logo has and will continue to stand the test of time, always looking trendy. The almost urban-inspired lettering of The Romantics' logo is far more edgy and creative than those used by younger bands. Some people say The Romantics are punk, others say garage or power pop, but the truth is they will always be rock and roll.

"You crashed your car through the front door/I pulled you from the wreckage/You told me that you missed me/But you meant with the grill and hood."

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domingo

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The Romantics Message Board

Posts: 57

Re: The Romantics logoReply #2 - Apr 5th, 2011 at 10:57am

No Brew, I did not know this, that is very neat! Was Jimmy Marinos' father also the manager of the band when The Romantics were young? Jimmy was very lucky to have a father who would use his talents to help his band. I would like to learn more about the man and his artwork.

This logo is amazing, because it is timeless. We can safely bet money that Jimmy's father must have been advanced far beyond his years in style and taste, because the logo demonstrates a rock edge with almost urban style.

I know what you mean about the sleeveless shirts, I have 1 or 2 of the cutoff/sleeveless shirts, but rarely wear those anymore. My wife used to put them in the dryer and that was a big problem because it causes the shirts to get little fuzzies on the outside and it makes the picture fade. I hang dry all of my Romantics shirts and wash them on delicate setting with limited soap. Never put them in the dryer and if you are traveling, wait to wash them.

I rarely wear the shirts I have with The Romantics wearing the red leather suits, because I feel they did not look as good in that picture as they did during the 1983-84 period. Something I rarely tell anyone, for a little while, I tried different hairstyles and used to fluff and spike my hair so I could try and look like Jimmy Marinos! He and Coz had fun haircuts, but I wore Wally's hairstyle for the longest amount of time.

Is Wally Palmar's hair naturally curly/wavy? When I have seen him at some current shows, his hair looks like the actor Matthew McConaughey. I know this because my wife pointed this out to me in 2006 and in 2007 and both shows were very humid outdoors. Wally probably does something to straighten his hair to accomdate his 60s-inspired haircut, which reminds me of The Small Faces.

Anyways, all of the t-shirts I know of use the famous Marinos Romantics logo either with a picture or without. Two of my favorites are one with a headshot photo of the band from 1979 and another from a few years later with the "In Heat" tour lineup standing and looking forward, wearing the black outfits. That one is a long-sleeve like a baseball shirt. For example, Jimmy Marinos has the spiked hair and Coz looks very fashionable.

I forgot to tell you, right now, there is a Casino I go to where they are advertising an upcoming concert for The Romantics. Some graphic artist at the casino took the Marinos logo and placed it over a background that looks like organic metal skin from a spaceship on some science fiction film. It looks outstanding from electronic sign on the highway and from the big screen inside the casino.

I live in both Texas and Louisiana where I have houses, but the casino I am talking about is actually in Oklahoma. It is called WinStar World Casino. This is the casino I was referring to, where they have the interesting metal organic alien skin pattern that utilizes The Romantics' logo on the big screen.

This is not the same casino where The Romantics played with Rick Springfield a while back, that was the Choctaw Casino. Choctaw is in Durant, but I may go see Roseanne Cash perform there as well as Joan Jett. If I am not out of town, I may go to see Chuck Berry, Johnny Rivers and George Jones in the coming months.

Please note that I have never seen The Romantics at WinStar so far, but it is my favorite of all the casinos and I have had them comp my meals before. Why lie, they have some of the best margaritas in the area too! Not to mention, it is bigger than Choctaw and perhaps even Coushatta.

I highly recommend that everyone come to The Romantics concert at WinStar. It is The Romantics with Loveryboy and what I told my wife, if you don't like Loverboy, you can leave after The Romantics perform. I have never seen Loverboy and don't remember their music only the name, because I think they were famous back in the 80s. Of course, we can get some drinks or go play the slots if Loverboy is not good, so it is a Win-Win situation. LOL

Very funny! I've actually never met a casino that I didn't like if you know what I mean! I happen to really like LoverBoy! Mike Reno still has a great voice! Just as he always did. I'm sure it will be an awesome show. I wish I was going. Can't say how exciting Oklahoma is though!

Thank you Solodka, I am excited to see both bands. Do you know if The Romantics will do a meet and greet to sell and sign merchandise at the table after the show? I know that WinStar allows the artists to come out after because it helps the band to sell merchandise and it is good for the casino because the people buying merchandise might decide to buy a beer or three from the bar.

I have gotten my picture with many famous artists there and I have also been on the tour bus of Merle Haggard and got my picture with The Gin Blossoms and Dwight Yoakam. I also met The Grass Roots there, but that was when Rob Grill was still touring. Sadly, lead singer Rob Grill is in poor health and does not perform much outside of where he lives Florida. Rob replaced himself with a singer who is probably much younger, but I never understand why they sign autographs because there are no original members in the entire band. Rob has an amazing voice, I love those classic albums The Grass Roots made in the 60s and 70s.

I've seen Loverboy a few times at Summerfest over the past ten years and they sound better than ever. They have gotten a bit pudgy, though. Maybe Mike Reno should try to get on Celebrity Fit Club, haha.

"You crashed your car through the front door/I pulled you from the wreckage/You told me that you missed me/But you meant with the grill and hood."

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domingo

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The Romantics Message Board

Posts: 57

Re: The Romantics logoReply #11 - Apr 8th, 2011 at 3:58pm

Well, I am embarassed that I had never heard Loverboy's music, only the name, until now. It's like I should have known them, but it will be nice to see the live. Back then, we mainly had MTV and some local programs that played music videos, something similar to the college radio concept. There were a couple local late night shows on tv that played a bigger variety of music than MTV or even commercial radio. There was no YouTube or internet and there was a great value placed on live concerts and the memories they created.

Looking back, I saw artists such as The Kinks, Ronnie Milsap, Don Williams, John Waite, Del Shannon, Slade, Johnny Lee, BJ Thomas and Conway Twitty. I won't bore you with the long list of rock, classic country and blues concerts I attended at nightclubs and bigger venues, but it is somewhere in the thousands.

It wasn't hip to mix genres back then, country people only listened to country music, metalheads only listened to metal etc. The 80s had a huge revival movement for oldies music and that was when I started going to see The Grass Roots with Rob Grill and Chuck Berry. The oldies radio format wasn't created until the 80s, so a great deal of that music was lost in limbo to AM radio during the 70s.